McMullan Ushak 'bird' carpet, Western Turkey, late 16th, early 17th century. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Medium: Wool (warp, weft and pile); symmetrically knotted pile
Dimensions: Rug: L. 170 1/2 in. (433.1 cm) W. 93 5/8 in. (237.8 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Joseph V. McMullan, 1963
Accession Number: 63.207

In contrast to the usual brilliant red and blue colours of the Anatolian rugs, this type known as ‘bird’ rugs uses white as a dominant colour, both in field and border. Against this brilliant white ground a continuous pattern based on a system of highly abstract leaf forms resembling birds (hence the name of these rugs) radiating around floral rosettes, is placed. The square units formed by the horizontal and vertical rows of these leaves and rosettes are filled with floral motifs composed of palmettes and floral rosettes. In spite of the static character of all pattern elements, a sense of movement is created which probably lead to the interpretation of the leaves of the main pattern elements as birds flying around the blossoms into which they seem to sink their beaks. The design of the main border consists of a succession of reciprocal half-medallions of diamond shape.

[Arts Council 1972]

Provenance
Joseph V. McMullan, New York (by 1960–63; gifted to MMA)

References
"Catalogue of an exhibition held at the] Hayward Gallery, London, 19 October–10 December 1972." In Islamic Carpets from the Joseph V. McMullan Collection. London: Arts Council of Great Britain, 1972. no. 76, p. 49, ill. pl. XXVI (color).

McMullan, Joseph V., and Ernst J. Grube. Islamic Carpets. New York: Near Eastern Art Research Center, 1965. no. 76, pp. 248-249, ill. pl. 76 (color).

Schurmann, Ulrich. "The Joseph V. McMullan Collection. New York." In Islamische Teppiche. Frankfurt: Museum für Kunsthandwerk Frankfurt, 1968. no. 38, pp. 84-85, ill. p. 85 (b/w).

Ettinghausen, Richard. "Islamic Carpets. The Joseph V. McMullan Collection." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin vol. 28, no. 10 (1970). pp. 421, 422, ill. p. 422 (color).

Dimand, Maurice S., and Jean Mailey. Oriental Rugs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1973. no. 87, pp. 191, 226, fig. 173 (b/w).

Atil, Esin, ed. Turkish Art. Washington, D.C and New York: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1980. pp. 315, 317, ill. fig. 182 (b/w).

Ellis, Charles. Oriental Carpets in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1988. p. 57, ill. fig. 19a (b/w).